Phillip Island MotoGP Statistical Smorgasbord

MotoGP Facts and Stats Update

At the Thai GP, Miguel Oliveira won for the fifth time in MotoGP along with Styria and Portugal in 2020, Catalunya in 2021, and Indonesia this season.

With Ducati winning from the Dutch TT to the Japanese GP and KTM in Thailand, this is the first time that European bikes won seven successive premier class races since 1973-1974 (eight) with König and MV Agusta.

Jack Miller finished second in Buriram for his 21st podium with Ducati in MotoGP, and he is closing on Loris Capirossi who is third on the list of Ducati riders with most podiums in the premier class with 23, behind Casey Stoner (42) and Andrea Dovizioso (40).

Francesco Bagnaia finished third at the Thai GP for his 18th podium in MotoGP, all of them with Ducati, three less than his teammate Jack Miller, who is fourth on the list of Ducati riders with most premier class podiums.

With Miller and Bagnaia, this is the 23rd successive MotoGP race with at least one Ducati rider on the podium, extending the Bologna factory record in the class.

Ducati riders have scored 28 podiums since Qatar. Ducati becomes the first manufacturer with 28 podiums in a single premier class season since Yamaha in 2015 (28 podiums). The last manufacturer with more than 28 podiums in a single season in the class is Honda in 2013 (30).

At the Thai GP, Marc Marquez finished fifth and since his comeback from surgery at the Aragon GP (three races), he has scored one point less than half of the points accumulated by all the other Honda riders since his last race prior to surgery (24 points compared to 49).

Franco Morbidelli finished 13th at the Thai GP (following a 3-second penalty for exceeding track limits on the last lap) as the top Yamaha rider for the first time since Spain last year.

With Morbidelli as the top Yamaha in 13th, this is the third successive premier class race that there is no Yamaha within the top seven, which is the first time this happened since 1994 from the Spanish to the German GPs.

At the Thai GP, Fabio Quartararo finished 17th for his second-worst result in MotoGP so far after the 2020 Aragon GP when he was P18. This is the third time he failed to score any point across the line in MotoGP along with Qatar in 2019 (P16) and Aragon in 2020 (P18).

Despite a crash on the fourth lap, Luca Marini finished 23rd, meaning he has finished every of his 35 MotoGP races since his debut in the class last year.

Raul Fernandez finished 15th as the only one of the five MotoGP rookie this year in the points for the second time along with San Marino.

Marco Bezzecchi, who finished 16th in Thailand, is still leading the fight for the Rookie of the Year with 80 points ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio (23 points), Darryn Binder (10), Remy Gardner (9) and Fernandez (9).

None of the five rookies in MotoGP this year to have won at the Australian GP in any of the smaller classes. However, Fabio Di Giannantonio (P2 in Moto3 in 2018) is only one of them who has stood on the podium.

Motorcycle Grand Prix racing at Phillip Island

This will be the 32nd Australian Grand Prix, which has been held every year since the first visit in 1989 except in 2020 and 2021 when the Australian GPs were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The first two Australian Grands Prix were held at Phillip Island before MotoGP visited the Eastern Creek circuit for six successive years, returning to Phillip Island in 1997, which has been its home since. This is the 26th time that the Grand Prix has taken place at Phillip Island.

Since the introduction of the MotoGP class in 2002, Honda have had nine wins at Phillip Island including four victories in 2015, 2017 and 2019 with Marc Marquez, and in 2016 with Cal Crutchlow.

Ducati have four MotoGP wins at Phillip Island, all with Casey Stoner from 2007 to 2010. Since, the only podiums for Ducati are thirds with Andrea Iannone (2015), Andrea Dovizioso (2018) and Jack Miller (2019).

Yamaha have won the MotoGP race at Phillip Island on five occasions, three with Valentino Rossi (2004, 2005 and 2014), one with Jorge Lorenzo (2013) and one with Maverick Viñales (2018).

Both Yamaha factory riders also finished on the podium in 2017, with Valentino Rossi second followed by Maverick Viñales. Johann Zarco was fourth making it to three Yamaha riders within the top five.

Suzuki have had three podiums at Phillip Island in the premier class: 2006 when Chris Vermeulen finished second, 2016 when Maverick Viñales was third and in 2018 when Andrea Iannone finished second.

Aprilia’s best at Phillip Island: sixth with Andrea Iannone in 2019. Jeremy McWilliams qualified on pole in the premier class here in 2000, which was the last pole for Aprilia until Aleix Espargaro this year in Argentina.

KTM best MotoGP result at Phillip Island: ninth with Pol Espargaro in 2017. He qualified sixth, which was the best qualifying result for KTM in the class at that time.

Home riders have taken 10 GP wins at Phillip Island: Casey Stoner (in MotoGP from 2007 to 2012), Wayne Gardner (in 500cc in 1989 and 1990), Mick Doohan (500cc/1998) and Jack Miller (Moto3/2014).

The last Australian to finish on the podium at Phillip Island in any class is Jack Miller, third in MotoGP in 2019.

Four riders have both started from pole and won the race in MotoGP at Phillip Island: Valentino Rossi in 2003, Casey Stoner (2008 to 2012), Jorge Lorenzo in 2013 and Marc Marquez (2015 and 2017).

Marc Marquez qualified on pole position for five years at Phillip Island from 2014 to 2018, equalling Casey Stoner who did it between 2008 and 2012 at this track.

On this day…